Alert system improves communication in Gustav crisis

As Hurricane Gustav roared into Louisiana and scattered its citizens, many Southeastern Louisiana University students greatly benefited from the university's new Emergency Alert System. Having been in place for only six months, the system's first trial during the Gustav evacuation proved to be a great success.

Erin Moore, executive assistant to the university president, said their office was happy with the results of the trial. "Students as well as parents called us to let us know how pleased they were to receive the information during Gustav," she said. "This is a positive step in our emergency alert system."

"I evacuated with my family to Tennessee," said Katie Montelepre, resident student and liberal arts major. "It was very helpful, because if I had not had it, I may have gone back before the residence halls were open, or I may not have realized classes were starting up again."

The idea for the Emergency Alert System came about in discussions after the tragedy at Virginia Tech in April 2007. The following November, the University of Louisiana System initiated a review of emergency procedures at all eight of its campuses, including Southeastern. The comprehensive review focused on how universities communicate urgent information to their students and provided campus specific suggestions for improvement.

Southeastern decided to employ the Baton Rouge based business, FirstCall, in setting up its comprehensive alert system. FirstCall offers a variety of emergency notification types such as text messages, faxes, e-mails, voice mails and pagers. Southeastern's alert system employs the text message, e-mail and voice mail options, and can be activated from any Internet connection, upon approval from the president.

"We realized in today's world, text messaging is how most students communicate," Moore said. "We needed to utilize the technology available."
According to their Web site, FirstCall also offers the assurance that the system will never be down during an emergency situation. The company uses generators to back up its Baton Rouge office, in addition to maintaining a secondary site in Nevada. FirstCall daily updates all data at both sites.

Moore agrees that staying current with the system is very important. "We upload our data once a week," she said. "(FirstCall) works with our office of technology and coordinates uploading the data."

But Southeastern's comprehensive system doesn't stop at sending out text messages and e-mails. It also employs telephone alerts on campus, strategically placed Code Blue emergency phones, security cameras, a PA system located on top of the Sims Memorial Library, fire alarms and web alerts. It is combination Moore describes as redundant.

"Knowledge is power," she said. "That's why we have text messaging, and e-mail and the speaker on top of the library. We put redundancies in place. You can't just send out one e-mail and expect everyone to see it. You need to communicate more."

Students who were signed up with the system before Gustav were amazed at how well Southeastern was able to communicate with its scattered student body. They were grateful for the information provided them.

"I was surprised they were able to send text messages during the storm," sophomore Delores Freeman said. "I think they were very effective with it."

Resident student Terry Trahan said he was always well-informed during his first hurricane evacuation experience. Living in Mississippi and without Internet service, Trahan found his means of obtaining information about the campus were limited.
"The only way I could receive instantaneous information from the university was via text message," he said. "Because I always carry a phone, the text message has proven most beneficial to alerting me in a timely manner. I was very pleased with the efficiency and hastiness of alerts."

Some students who were not signed up during Gustav have discovered it would have been useful. "I was without power all week," sophomore Heather Paddock said. "I was texting my friends all week, going 'Hey, when does school start?'"

According to Moore, the number of students registered in the Emergency Alert System has tripled since before Gustav. "As of September 11, 2008, there are 6,083 students registered," she said. "It grows by word of mouth. More people find out about it as students forward the text messages to their friends."

"I would definitely recommend that other students sign up," Montelepre said. "It is the easiest, fastest and most reliable way to get important information about the status of Southeastern's campus and classes."

Students who wish to receive the alerts by text message or voice mail should click the "Be Safe...Sign Up" link located on the university's webmail login page. More information on the FirstCall system can be found at www.firstcall.net.